Reward doubled in Colorado attempted abduction

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AURORA, Colo. — The reward being offered to track down a man who tried to kidnap an 8-year-old girl from her bedroom in suburban Denver was doubled to $20,000 Tuesday as police tracked down leads.

Investigators say the man got in through an unlocked window early Monday morning and grabbed the girl. She screamed for help and was able to get away from the abductor just as her father ran outside to help her.

The father told police he saw the suspect speed away in a silver or gray BMW sedan in the alley that runs behind their house. Police Chief Dan Oates said the girl’s struggle to escape may have saved her life.

Oates said there is no indication the family was targeted and police are treating the case as an attempted stranger abduction, a rare crime. Investigators are studying surveillance videos of businesses, searching sex offender databases, and also checking on whether there have been any other similar incidents elsewhere in the Denver area.

‘‘We think there’s a predator out there. And he has to be caught, and he has to be stopped,’’ Oates said.

He said the girl talked to the man, but he would not elaborate.

The girl’s grandmother told The Denver Post that the girl was doing her homework in her bunk bed in her first-floor bedroom just after midnight when the man entered and covered her mouth with his hand.

Oates said it is likely the suspect saw the light on and had been watching the girl.